The Orphan: An MCU Fanfiction
by Anastacia Lynn
Summary: While being held hostage by the Ten Ring, Tony Stark meets a strange girl. After breaking them out, Stark brings the girl back to US with him, he soon discovers that she has very unique gifts. This movie takes place During Iron Man, but there was no category for that under Movies.
1. Chapter 1

The Orphan

An MCU Fanfiction

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that are copyrighted by Marvel/Disney. I do own Yekaterina (Trina) Savinkoff-Stark.

 **A.N: This fanfiction is the first of a series. It will span the entire MCU timeline. This story is starting at the first Iron Man film and moving onward. There will be other stories and characters as well, if I can wrestle them to the ground in my brain, then pull them out and stick them to the digital pages of my computer's writing program.**

2996; 2997; 2998; 2999; 3000 grains of sand in this cubic centimeter. That's twelve cubic centimeters down and 8,361,273,588 left to count. So far there were 36,008 grains of sand.

How else was Yekaterina supposed to pass the time as she waited for her body to slowly die from starvation? She certainly didn't want to think about the fact that she was only eleven years old and probably shouldn't be able to count that high, or be able to compute such large numbers so well. Did normal girls her age even know about cubic centimeters? Probably not. She also shouldn't be able to see each tiny grain of sand with so little light. She shouldn't be able to understand all the languages these people were speaking; she'd never heard most of them before.

Chalk it all up to how different she was.

She had been in this hell cave for almost three weeks with little to no food and a gallon of water per day.

' _I should be dead,_ ' she thought. ' _Why can't these people just come in and shoot me_ '

She knew the answer already; they wanted a ransom exchange. That's why they kidnapped her from the lab in Hungary. They hoped to trade her back for the weapon the scientist there were developing.

' _Idiots. I am the weapon._ '

The "scientists" murdered her family and spent nine years putting her through painful injections and experimentations to make her their new soldier. A living weapon, under their full control. She didn't even know who "they" were. Just that awful read insignia.

Just three weeks ago she heard the "Baron", as he was called, speaking in German. For the past five months she had not only been uncooperative, as usual, but she had ceased speaking at all and ate as little as possible. The Baron had been speaking over the phone with someone and they were contemplating whether or not to put an end to the project and killing Yeketerina all together.

' _Like they killed_ her _,_ ' Yekaterina pulled her mind away from that thought. She couldn't think of _her_.

Two days later this new group had broken into the factory looking for weapons to fuel their aspirations for world domination. All they found was Yekaterina. Believing that the Baron and his organization wouldn't have had her so heavily guarded if she wasn't important, they grabbed her and ran.

Yekaterina didn't even put up a fight. She was just to worn down.

' _I just want to die,_ ' she thought.

She wanted the pain to end. The pain in her head that felt like jackhammers beating at her skull. The pain in her back that felt like someone was clawing at it from the inside. The burning pain in her hands that felt like they were constantly pressed to a stove top or open flame. She wanted it all to stop.

She heard the men outside making some sort of commotion, then they were carrying a bleeding, unconscious man in to the room. The imprisoned doctor, Yensin, started talking to them in an Arabic dialect. The new man was their prisoner now, they wanted Yensin to patch the man up so he, the man, could make them a weapon called the Jericho missile.

She heard them tell Yensin that the man's name is Tony Stark…

 **A.N.: I know the description of what happened to Yekaterina is ambiguous, but more will be revealed as the story, and later as the series, progresses. Some may be aware what the red insignia is (I'm assuming you've watched more of the MCU films than just Iron Man), but, as far as this point, few know "they" still exist. As for who "she" is, that will be revealed later in the series, but not this story.**

 **All thanks to BouncingKappa and Singer of Water for all the help filling in my plot hole.**


	2. Chapter 2

The Orphan

An MCU Fanfiction

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that are copyrighted by Marvel/Disney. I do own Yekaterina (Trina) Savinkoff-Stark.

Yinsen worked for hours trying to extract all the shrapnel from Tony Stark's chest and other extremities. He knew that he would not be able to get all of them, so to keep the rest from entering the man's atrial septum Yinsen had to implant an electromagnet into Stark's chest. He used a car battery as a power source. Sadly, this would only last a week, at best.

After Yinsen was done, he sat back and waited for the famous Tony Stark to wake up. As he waited, Yinsen turns to stare at the other prisoner her. She looked like such a fragile thing, with her once golden curls and bright green eyes. Yinsen knew that their captures were getting impatient for the ransom they requested to be delivered by those the Ten Rings stole her from, the girl had been brought here in the middle of April and it is now the third of May. These men would probably put a bullet in her soon. It was a sad reality.

Yinsen decided to rest, it was at least ten in the evening, now, and Stark would probably be out for another six hours.

* * *

Tony Stark awoke with a gasp, and immediately noticed tubing in his nostril, which he proceeded to pull out. He then turned to his left and saw a table next to him and further away was a man looking into a mirror and shaving. Stark tried to grab something to attack the man when said man spoke up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Ignoring the man, Stark tried to grab a bottle to hit the man over the head, but was held back by something. Looking to his right Stark saw a car battery, it's wires leading under the gauze wrapped around his chest. He tore away at the wrappings to reveal a metal, circular object imbedded in his own chest.

Yekaterina had watched it all; Stark's arrival, Yinsen being told to remove all the shrapnel and him telling their captures it was almost completely impossible, but they wouldn't allow that answer. These desert men told Yinsen, on no uncertain terms, that if Stark died they would also kill Yinsen as well. So Yinsen removed as many metal barbs as he could and then implanted the large electromagnet to keep the remaining shards from killing Stark.

She now continued to observe Stark and Yinsen; not just with her eyes, but listening with her ears and feeling with her _other_ sense.

Months after the Baron and his group had started the tortures they called science, Yekaterina's new sense immerged. It was vague at first, but soon grew stronger. She could feel the emotions of those around her as if they were her own. She couldn't hear thoughts just feel their feeling. It went further than just inner emotions, if one of them was hurt, Yekaterina felt it as if she were hurt. Someone's broken arm made her feel like her arm was broken. It grew from there, prior to her abandonment, she was slowly able to make her guards feel what she wished them to feel. It was why they were so unfocused the day these terrorists broke in.

She focused this ability on these two fellow prisoners in order to get a grasp on who they were. She doesn't know why she cared, as she had already decided to let herself either wither away, or get one of her newer captures to kill her. Curiosity, she guessed, is a hard urge to fight.

She watched Yinsen prepare some sort of beans on an iron skillet, and listens to him and Stark speak.

"What did you do to me?" Stark asked.

"I saved your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could," said Yinsen, "but there's a lot left and it's headed into your atrial septum. Here, want to see? I have a souvenir." Yinsen held up a very small jar with tiny metal fragments inside. "Take a look." Then he handed the jar over to Stark.

With a morbid curiosity, Stark examined the shrapnel that had been removed from his own body.

Yinsen continued on, "I've seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead because it takes a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs."

"What's this?" Stark asked, referring to the devise in his own chest.

"That is an electromagnet," Yinsen replied, "hooked up to a car battery, and it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart."

Stark looked up and saw a video camera trained on him.

Having seen where Stark was looking Yinsen stated, "That's right. Smile."

Yekaterina observed the exchange and wondered why Yinsen felt such a strange mix of pity and guilty amusement. Stark appeared to be in shock, though she couldn't blame him; she doubted that this Stark fellow ever expected to be a hostage by terrorists. She got an underlining sense of arrogance and narcissism. This man was probably very wealthy and lived somewhere where the possibility of being kidnapped by middle eastern terrorists was very remote.

"We met once, you know," said Yinsen. "At a technical conference in Bern."

"I don't remember," replied Stark quietly.

"No, you wouldn't. If I had been that drunk, I wouldn't be able to stand, much less give a lecture on integrated circuits."

Yekaterina's mind seemed to absorb what she heard and felt and came to the conclusion that this man, Stark, _is_ wealthy and probably a genius. But she also got the impression that Stark didn't conform to the standards of behavior set by others.

"Where are we?" Stark asked.

Before Yinsen could answer, there was a shouting heard outside the door in a foreign tongue. "Come on, stand up. Stand Up!" said Yinsen as he pulled Stark to his feet. "Do as I do," Yinsen stressed. "Come on, put your hands up." Yinsen then placed his own hands behind his head and Stark did the same.

Stark looked at the men in surprise. "Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?"

"Do you understand me? Do as I do."

One of the men stepped in front of the others. Yekaterina recognized him as a Lieutenant, of sorts, in this terrorist army. His name wass Abu Bakar and Yekaterina knew this because the men were no longer careful of what they said around her. Her lack of any communication had them all assuming she was either deaf or stupid.

Bakar began speaking Pashtu as Yinsen translated to Stark.

"He says, 'Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America.'

He is honored"

Bakar looked down at a photo in his hand, then continued.

"He wants you to build the missile. The Jericho missile that you demonstrated."

Bakar handed Yinsen the photo.

"This one." Yinsen said as he showed Stark the photo.

"I refuse," stated Stark stubbornly.

Bakar yelled an order and his men instantly seized Stark and dragged him outside.

Yekaterina could here splashing and suspected that Stark was having his head held under water. Then more men came and dragged Yinsen out, as well. She could here both Yinsen and Stark being taken outside.

 _'There probably about to get shot,'_ thought Yekaterina.

She closed her eyes feeling weightless and wonders if her prayers for death have finally been answered. Instead a blinding white light flashed behind her eyes and when it clears she sees a strange sight.

 _Stark stands in a suit of dirty metal, while Yinsen types fast on a laptop. Suddenly Yinsen looks up and mumbles that he needs to buy more time. Stark yells at Yinsen to stick to the plan. Moment later the armor lights up and the helm falls over Stark's face. Using the armor, he shoots and burns the terrorists in order to free himself. An explosion occurs blasting him many yards away._

After the vision cleared Yekaterina opened her eyes and gave a sad smile. At least Stark wouldn't die here, and once he's free perhaps he could put a stop to this crazy group.

Another flash happened and this time she saw something months ahead of time.

 _A new suit of armor, this one red and gold, begins shooting at insurgents holding innocent people hostage. He destroys their weapons and liberates the villagers. He hands over a man, Bakar, to the people and says, "He's all yours."_

Before she could open her eyes again a third vision occurs.

 _She is lying on an examination table there are doctors surrounding her. She begins to panic and starts to fight them. Suddenly Stark is there. He holds her hand and tells her not to worry neither he or Pepper, as he tilts his head toward a red-haired woman behind him, will let anyone hurt her. He says they just want to take a small amount of blood and to keep her eyes on him. He promised he'd look after her and he's going to keep that promise._

Yekaterina was gasping as this last vision cleared. _'He'll protect me?'_ she thought in wonder.

Could she really trust what she just saw?

 **A.N. Sorry this chapter is a day late. Cleaning my apartment took more of my time then I thought. Sorry if this chapter goes a bit slow or repeats from the movie too much. I wanted to get Yekaterina's private thoughts in before she begins interacting with Tony Stark. Plus, I was trying to bridge her previous idea of throw in the towel with her sudden desire to help Tony escape. So please R &R and thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, and or followed this story.**

 **I-am-a-Ice-cream-lover: Thank you. I got the name from watching a documentary about Katherine the Great. (Did you know her name at birth was Sophie) Yekaterina is how her name is pronounced in Russian. She chose the name after converting to Russian Orthodox.**

 **Ashes2Dust18: I know I could have put it under Iron Man in comics, but it is based on the movie (I can't afford to buy and read all the comics, there are forty years' worth to read) I figured putting it under Avengers was the best plan as the series continues throughout the MCU.**


	3. Chapter 3

The Orphan

An MCU Fanfiction

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that are copyrighted by Marvel/Disney. I do own Yekaterina (Trina) Savinkoff-Stark.

 **A.N. As this is the first chapter in which Yekaterina actually speaks, I should mention that her accent is similar to Pietro and Wanda's. You'll understand why later in this chapter.**

Yekaterina was still thinking about her visions when Stark and Yinsen were both dragged back into the small room. The terrorists left and locked the steel doors upon exiting.

Stark sat down and stared at the table, not really seeing it. Knowing where his mind was headed Yekaterina made a small sound to make him look her way.

Stark turned to the darkened corner and saw the small girl for the first time. She was tiny and emaciated, with what may have been golden blond hair, but it was too oily and caked with dirt to tell at this time. Stark was surprised he didn't notice the child before, but given recent events it was understandable.

"Who's she?" he asked Yinsen.

"Her? She was captured weeks ago, with the hopes of ransoming her back for a weapon more powerful than your Jericho. So far, however there has been no response back. I assume she will be executed soon, as she is deaf and mute, and of no use." Yinsen shook his head at the prediction of another needless death.

"I'm neither, thank you very much," said a quiet voice from the corner. "I just didn't feel like talking. I'm not completely sure why I'm bothering now."

Yinsen's eyes widened. He looked at the diminutive girl in the corner who was struggling to sit up. He quickly rushed over to assist her, but no sooner had his hand touched her the poor child stiffened and flinched before trying to pull away. The effort caused her to fall back into the sand.

"I'm only trying to help," Yinsen assured the girl.

"No offense, but I don't know you and I don't trust 'doctors'." Yekaterina knew the man is nothing like the lab doctors she was used to, but old reservations still hold strong inside her. "I've had my fill of being poked and prodded to last me five hundred lifetimes."

"No offense taken," Yinsen assured her. "But you obviously need assistance and I've noticed you've barely eaten anything since arriving here. I only wish to help you to the table so I can get some nutrients inside you. No poking or prodding required."

Yekaterina looked into Yinsen's eyes reading him inside and out. She came to to the decision that she could trust the Middle Eastern man, Yekaterina placed her arm around the back of Yinsen's neck as he puts one arm behind her back and the other under her knees. He picked her up and carried her to the table where Stark sat, withdrawn.

Steadying herself, Yekaterina looked closer at Stark and said in wonder, "Is this what I've looked like all this time? It's really sad."

Stark didn't bat an eye at her statement. That wasn't good. If Stark withdrew too far he wouldn't be able to free himself. Yekaterina had lost hope in actually leaving herself, despite what she had seen, but this man could make a difference once free. She couldn't let that be destroyed by this man's depression.

Yinsen's voice pulled Yekaterina from her own thoughts, "I'm sorry for my assumptions, but…"

"Isn't there a saying about people who assume?" Yekaterina gave a weak smile to the doctor to let him know she held no ill will.

"Very true, but you need to eat, you are only skin and bones." Yinsen placed a plate in front of her; on it were the beans he has cooked earlier.

Yekaterina looked down at the food in front of her. She knew Yinsen was right, but she'd been living off barely any nourishment for so long the thought of eating all that is on the plate made her stomach twist. Still, she needed to start eating again, so she tried to pick up one of the utensils, but the lack of nutrients had taken its toll. Yekaterina couldn't lift the spoon more than six inches before her hand started to shake so bad she dropped the spoon.

Yinsen saw this and wanted to help, but he knew the girl's stubbornness wouldn't allow her to let him feed her. He watched as the girl tried thrice more before he decided to risk her irritation and took the spoon; scooping up a small amount of the beans he held the spoon in front of the child's face waiting for her to open her mouth.

Yekaterina glared; first at the doctor then the spoon, but she knew she was too weak to feed herself, so swallowing her pride, Yekaterina opened her mouth and allowed Yinsen to feed her like an infant. He stopped a few times to hold up a cup of water to her lips, which Yekaterina gladly drank. After the food and water were finished Yekaterina felt full for the first time in over a month. After all, she had begun her hunger strike back before the Ten Rings had stolen her.

Now that Yekaterina's nutritional health was temporarily taken care of, both she and Yinsen looked over at Stark.

While Yinsen had been attending Yekaterina, Stark had moved to sit in front of the fire. Yinsen walked over to him and Yekaterina followed.

"I'm sure they're looking for you Stark," Yinsen assured him. "But they will never find you in these mountains."

Stark ignored him and continued to stare into the flames. Yekaterina could feel the man's depression and sense of hopelessness growing.

"Look what you just saw," Yinsen continued, "that is your legacy, Stark. Your life's work in the hands of those murderers. Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something about it?"

"Why should I do anything?" Stark asked. "They're going to kill me, and you two as well, either way. And if they don't, I'll probably be dead in a week."

Yekaterina sat down next to Stark and focused her power and boosted Stark's hope just a bit before saying, "Well, then it sounds like this is very, important week for you, is it not?"

Stark looked over at the girl, she looked a little better now that she had food in her system, but she still looked like hell.

"How did you get here, anyway?" questioned Stark. "You don't look like you're from this region."

"I am from Sokovia," answered Yekaterina with what Stark just realized was an Eastern European accent. "My parents were shot by man with red star on his arm." Yekaterina patted the side of her left arm. "He took me to place where there was lots of people in white coats and they tied me down to table. Then they stuck needles filled with blue liquid into my arms. The liquid burned my insides and that is when I start to get pains in my head. And my back feels like there is a knife inside trying to get out. There is also my hands, they feel like they are always on fire."

Stark looked at the strange child. He could tell by the fear and pain in the girl's eyes that she wasn't lying. "How old are you?" he inquired.

Yekaterina shrugged, "Lab men said I was born on the thirtieth of April in 1995. And I was 'acquired' on the seventh of July in 1997."

Listening to Stark's inquiry Yinsen piped in, "I heard these men say that today is the seventeenth of May, and the year is 2004. That makes you nine years old and only two when you were taken. It, also, means you have been here six weeks, tomorrow. And you Stark, have been here two weeks already."

Yekaterina looked at Stark again, feeling the hopelessness rising in him, once more. She gave another tiny boost of hope before stating, "I think if you would stop moping you might make it out of here."

A spark of an idea suddenly struck Stark and he turned to Yinsen. "Go tell the men that I have list of supplies and other similar needs. I may have a plan to keep my heart going far longer than this battery is going to allow."

Yinsen gave Stark a confused look but did as he was asked. Yekaterina pondered what she was feeling from Stark; he was elated and hopeful with a strong surge of confidence and assurity. He definitely was confident that whatever this plan was, it would work.

Yekaterina went back to her corner; the less those other men saw of her, the better. Soon men were coming in bring tools and weapons all being ordered by Stark, translated by Yinsen. When the terrorists were gone Stark began to deconstruct one of the missiles.

"How many languages do you speak?" Stark suddenly asked Yinsen.

"A lot," Yinsen replied. "But apparently, not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian."

"Who are they?" Stark asked.

"They are your loyal customers, sir," answered Yinsen

"They call themselves the Ten Rings," Yekaterina suddenly piped in.

Yinsen looked at the girl in confusion. "They've never spoken English around you; how do you know what they call themselves?"

Yekaterina shrugged. "I can't explain it. When I hear someone speak, I understand them. It doesn't matter what language they are speaking; my brain translates it instantly. A wonderful side effect of almost nine years as a lab rat."

Stark continued to take apart the missile as the two speak.

"You know we might be more productive if you include me in the planning process," Yinsen stated.

"Hm," Stark said off-handedly as he removed the nose cone and pulled out the war head. He then took a small piece of metal out of the war head and threw the rest of the war head behind him somewhere, saying, "Okay, we don't need this."

Both Yinsen and Yekaterina looked at the tiny metal fragment and Yinsen asked the question on both their minds. "What is that?"

Holding the metal up, Stark replied, "That's palladium, 0.15 grams. We need 1.6, so why don't you go break down the other eleven," Stark said to Yinsen.

"How can I help'" asked Yekaterina.

"You can make a clay mold," Stark replied. He then had her work with clay sand and had her pack it into a stone cup. Then she would press a circular clamp of about three inches in diameter lightly into the clay to make a shallow ring shaped impression.

Yinsen was told to melt the palladium over the fire to place in the mold.

While both Yinsen and Yekaterina were working Stark sketches weapon designs.

"Careful," warned Stark as Yinsen slowly moved away from the fire and towards the table where the clay mold sits. "Careful. We only get one shot at this."

"Relax" said Yinsen. "I have steady hands. Why do you think you're still alive?"

As Yinsen poured the molten palladium into the mold Stark asked, "What do I call you, two?"

"My name is Yinsen."

"Yinsen. Nice to meet you," said Stark.

"Nice to meet you, too"

Both men looked at Yekaterina. "My name is Yekaterina Savinkoff."

"It is nice to meet you, as well," replied Yinsen.

Stark looked at the girl with a confused expression. "Yucky-trina?"

"No," said Yekaterina, offended. "It's YEK-ah-ter-EEN-ah," she said slower.

"I'm just going to call you Trina," replied Stark. "It's much easier to say."

Yekaterina, or "Trina", as she was now known, rolled her eyes and grumbled, "There is nothing difficult about my name." Secretly, however, she liked her new nick-name.

After the palladium had cooled to a solid, Stark gently removed it from the mold. He then continued with the rest of his project, soldering various small metal components together. He worked for several days, until he finished his new device; a round glowing device.

"That doesn't look like a Jericho missile," observes\d Yinsen, as he and Trina looked at the thing Stark has made.

"That's because it's a miniaturized arc reactor," replied Stark. "I got a big one powering my factory at home. It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart."

"But what would it generate?" asked Yinsen.

"If my math is correct, and it always is, three gigajoules per second," answered Stark

"I'm guessing that's a lot," remarked Trina.

"That could run your heart for fifty lifetimes," said Yinsen.

"So, definitely a lot," commented Trina.

"Yeah, or something big for fifteen minutes," said Stark. He then handed them a bunch of sketch papers, on each one are sketches for different weapons; one on each. "This is our ticket out of here."

"What is it?" asked Yinsen, while Trina wondered the same.

"Flatten them out and look."

Yinsen did so, flattening them over the lighted drawing board. Both he and Trina looked and saw that each separate design fit together to form a specialized suit of armor.

Trina realized it was the same armor she saw in her first vision. "It looks like a bloated Tin Woodsman," Trina commented. Both men turned to look at her; Yinsen was trying to hold back laughter, while Stark gave her a look that was both amused and wounded.

 _'Well, at least Stark will get out of here,'_ Trina thinks, still not holding any belief that she will.

Yinsen then tells Trina to try and eat, again, as he had Stark lie back down on the operating table. Yinsen then implanted the arc reactor into Stark's chest so the genius wouldn't have to carry the device in his hand.

 **A.N. Sorry this chapter took so long, but I had to do some research on missile components in order to be sure I was using the correct terms. As well as various science, math, and engineering terms. I'm an accounting major, not an engineer.**

 **I want to state the Yekaterina, or Trina, isn't trying to manipulate Tony Stark. She doesn't believe she'll make it out. Too many years of a bad situation and untrustworthy people have left her without much faith.**

 **Also, if you haven't guessed who the guy with the red star on his left arm is, you need to rewatch Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe again. I'm deliberately not using his name or the name of the organization he works for. Remember, at this time he's a myth/ghost, and THEY were stopped back in WWII. The only ones who know for sure of their existence are other members.**

 **Finally, some of you may have noticed (if you are browsing the full site instead of the mobile site) that I added a photo to the story. The photo is supposed to be what Yekaterina, or Trina, would look like as an adult in the comics. I created that image on doll divine . com, in one of the games called X-Girl. You use it to design your own female X-Men. (They didn't have one for the Avengers.) Yekaterina's superhero name is Miracle, and her armor is supposed to be Asgardian. (You'll find out why later in the series.)**


	4. Chapter 4

The Orphan

An MCU Fanfiction

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that are copyrighted by Marvel/Disney. I do own Yekaterina (Trina) Savinkoff-Stark.

 **As memo before you start reading: I have no idea how speak or write in any eastern languages. So any time you see italic writing in double quotation marks, it means the speaker isn't speaking English. I will tell you what language they're speaking, as well. Hopefully soon I'll be able to type in another language. As an added remark, italic in single quotation marks is thinking.**

Trina sat and watched Yinsen teach Stark how to play backgammon. She had no desire to learn the game for herself.

"Good roll," Yinsen commented when Stark dropped the dice on the board. "Good roll."

"You still haven't told me where you're from," Stark said to Yinsen.

"I'm from a small town called Gulmira," replied Yinsen. "It's actually a nice place."

"Got a family?"

"Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you Stark?"

Stark looked away with a mumbled, "No."

"No? So you're a man who has everything and nothing."

Both men looked over at Trina.

"I told you, I'm from Sokovia, and both my parents are dead," remarked Trina. She didn't want to discuss her family. She could barely remember them and Yelizabeta… No, she wouldn't talk about _her_.

"You didn't have any other family?" Yinsen inquired.

"I had a sister," replied Trina. "She is dead, too."

Trina then went back to her corner, signally she refused to talk any more.

Memories of Yelizabeta still haunted Trina. Trina knew rationally that her twin's death wasn't her fault but that didn't stop the guilt. The wish to have done something, anything different and to not have her sister's death on her conscience was still as strong now as it was four years ago.

 _The look of horror in Yelizabeta's eyes as the knife slid across her throat. The blood flowing from the fresh wound and Yekaterina pulling at the straps that held her to the chair and forced her to watch as the life left Yelizabeta's eyes._

Trina shook her head to clear the memories. Her sister's death was why she didn't fear dying; at least she would be with her sister then.

* * *

Stark and Yinsen worked to make each part of the armor, with Trina running around as their gofer. Sparks flew as the two men welded components and Trina often had to wear safety goggles, as requested by both men. In this way, weeks passed, getting them closer to escaping their captivity.

Trina, however, was concerned. She could sense the emotions of the men outside and they were growing impatient and angry. Soon watching the captives from the cameras wouldn't be enough. If these militants caught on the entire plan was ruined.

That day came almost three months into Stark's captivity. The men came into the room, shouting in multiple eastern dialects and holding their guns to the three captives. The three prisoners responded by placing their hands on top of their heads.

"Relax," said a new man who seemed to hold more authority than the others, including Abu. His name was Raza, and Stark was surprised the man spoke English.

Raza walked up to Stark and examined the arc reactor. "The bow and arrow," Raza began, "was once the pinnacle of weapons technology. It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great and four times the size of the Roman Empire." While he stated this history lesson, Raza walked around the room examining everything that Stark and the other two had been working on. "But today," Raza continued, while picking up and examining Stark's weapon sketches, "whoever holds the latest Stark weapons rules these lands. And soon it will be my turn."

Raza walked back over to Stark before looking down at the girl who had moved to stand next to Stark. "We should have killed you, months ago. I guess we'll take care of that now." Raza turned to one of his men and in Pashto said, " _Shoot her_ "

The unnamed man grabbed Trina in order to do what he was told, but he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of panic. It felt like his heart was racing and he immediately broke into a cold sweat. He then started screaming in panicked Urdu.

This caused Raza to order the man to be shot himself. Before Raza could order another man to do what the first man couldn't, but then Stark spoke up. "Could you let her live a little longer? She's a good runner and does what she's told without talking back."

Trina didn't like what Stark said, but knew from his emotions that he didn't mean the words to be as condescending as they sounded. He was trying to prolong Trina's life. But why? The man barely knew her, so why was he trying to keep her safe?

Nodding, Raza once more looked at Stark staring right into the other man's eye. " _Why have you failed me,_ " Raza said in Pashto, suddenly turning to look at Yinsen.

" _We're working,_ " Yinsen replied in Pashto. " _Diligently._ "

" _I let you live. This is how you repay me?_ "

" _It's very complex. He's trying very hard._ "

" _On his knees,_ " Raza ordered, and his men quickly forced Yinsen to his knees. " _You think me a fool?_ " He turned around and, using the blacksmith tongs, grabbed a piece of metal and heated it to red hot. " _I'll get the truth._ "

" _We're both working,_ " Yinsen insisted.

Raza brought the red-hot piece of metal over to where Yinsen was being held down. " _Open your mouth,_ " Raza commanded.

"What does he want?" Stark asked, not understanding what's happening at first.

" _You think I am a fool?_ " Raza asked, as he continued to question Yinsen. " _What's going on? Tell me the truth._ "

" _He's building your Jericho,_ " assured Yinsen.

" _Tell me the truth!_ "

" _He's building your Jericho._ "

" _TELL ME THE TRUTH!_ "

" _He's building your Jericho._ "

"What do you want?" Stark asked. "A delivery date?" He stepped forward and the militants began shouting and pointing their guns at him. "I need him. Him and the kid, they make good assistants."

Raza dropped the piece of metal and it landed inches from Yinsen's face. "You have until tomorrow to assemble my missile." With that said Raza tossed the tongs away and leaves with his men in tow.

With their captures once again out of sight, Stark began working with a renewed sense of purpose. Trina could sense the man's determination to see the three of them free of this prison. She was still wondering why he saved her, though. She was certain he could still continue his plan without her. Yinsen was far more useful than Trina. Her experience with people, so far, was that they were mostly self-serving and didn't care about the lives of others. So why did Stark keep her from having another man try to shoot her.

Trina's own powers had caused the first man to have a fear induced panic attack and she was certain she could do it to any one of those men. That, however, was risky. She didn't want any of them to catch on to her abnormalities. She refused to be anyone's weapon.

The sound of metal hitting metal pulled Trina from her thoughts. Stark was using a blacksmith hammer to pound some metal into shape. What that shape was, only he knew.

Trina sat next to Yinsen as he worked in some more delicate wiring. Suddenly Stark set something on the table in front of them. It was the newly finished face plate for the armor. Trina knew that they would have to put all the parts together by tomorrow. Then they could make their escape.

 **Sorry for the long wait, but the rest of my life refuses to be put on hold.**

 **I wasn't sure whether or not to include the flashback about Trina's twin. I asked five different people for advice and most of them agreed that it would be a good idea to give a glimpse in to Trina's past to show just what the organization is capable of. Some of you may already know who those people are, I did send their best assassin to acquire the twins. But, they weren't revealed to still be around till Cap 2. So, mum is the word. The twins were seven when Yelizabeta died.**

 **For those who are confused about the term gofer: It's a person who runs errands. You know, go for this and go for that.**

 **Also, neither Stark, Yinsen, or Trina know Raza's name. I just didn't want to keep calling him the bald bad guy. I learned his name on the MCU Wiki.**


	5. Chapter 5

The Orphan

An MCU Fanfiction

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that are copyrighted by Marvel/Disney. I do own Yekaterina (Trina) Savinkoff-Stark.

Yinsen began assembling the armor as Trina helped Stark wrap his hands in medical tape. Trina then got the jacket, welding gloves, and cushion neck brace that Stark would wear under the armor. Yinsen helped Stark into these items.

Stark stepped into the machine and Yinsen began bolting and screwing the parts together. As all the parts were being assembled, Yinsen made Stark and Trina both repeat the distance and direction to the cave's main entrance.

There was suddenly banging coming from the outside of the door. The militants wanted to know what was going on. Trina looked up and realized that Stark hiding from the camera's sight had made their captures nervous.

The terrorists yelled out for both Stark and Yinsen.

' _What am I; chopped liver?_ ' Trina thought.

"Say something," Stark told Yinsen. "Say something back to them."

"He's speaking Hungarian. I don't…" Yinsen said, panicked.

"Then speak Hungarian."

"Okay. I know."

"What do you know?"

Before Yinsen could speak Trina yelled out, in perfect Hungarian, " _Yinsen is putting a salve on Stark. Stark has acquired a rash from one of the women he was with before he left America. It's in a sensitive place and Stark doesn't want to expose himself to your cameras._ "

Stark heard the men go quiet at first, but then one started laughing, causing Stark to ask, "What did you tell them?"

"I told them Yinsen was treating a rash you received from a woman you were with in the States," Trina replied.

"You told them I had an STD?!"

"Yinsen said you had that kind of reputation."

Yinsen, who'd begun to quicken his pace at the sound of the men, had to hold back a laugh.

"If we weren't in a life or death situation, right now, I'd box your ears," Stark said to Trina.

Trina shrugged, unconcerned about Stark's ire.

The men outside, however, must have been ordered to come in any way. When they opened the door, the bomb Stark had rigged on it exploded. This caused the camera in the room to be destroyed and alerts the other men that something was seriously amiss.

"How'd that work?" asked Stark

Both Yinsen and Trina looked over at the doorway where the three men now lay dead.

"Oh, my goodness," says Trina. She hated death, no matter how much these men deserved it, plus she could still feel the residual pain they felt before they died.

"It worked alright," replied Yinsen to Stark's question.

"That's what I do," remarked Stark.

"Let me finish this," said Trina, trying to distract herself from the emotions of Stark and Yinsen, as well as the militants who will already heading to their cell.

"Initialize the power sequence," Stark ordered Yinsen.

"Okay," Yinsen said as he went over to the laptop.

"Now!" Stark demanded.

"Tell me. Tell me."

Function 11," Stark said as Yinsen typed on the computer. "Tell me when you see a progress bar. It should be up right now."

"Yes," Yinsen stated. The bar had popped up while Stark was speaking.

"Talk to me. Tell me when you see it."

"I have it."

"Press Control 'I'"

"'I'. Got it."

"'I'. Enter. 'I' and Enter."

He looked over to Trina, "Finish buttoning me up."

"You could try saying please," Trina huffed. She continued working with greater speed, however, as all three of them could hear the men coming towards them from outside.

"Okay. All right," Yinsen said to himself as he grabbed the drill from Trina and continued to finish the armor's assembly.

"Every other hex bolt," Stark reminded him.

"They're coming," Yinsen stated.

Next to him Trina gasped. She saw before her eyes the image of Yinsen at the entrance of the caves. He is bleeding and dying from multiple gunshot wounds. ' _Why, what's going to happen?_ ' she wondered.

"Nothing pretty, just get it done," Stark said calmly. "Just get it done."

"They're coming," Yinsen said again.

"Make sure the checkpoints are clear before you follow me out," Stark reminded both Yinsen and Trina.

"We need more time," Yinsen mumbled and suddenly Trina knew how things will play out. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Hey," Yinsen said to Stark, "I'm gonna go buy you some time."

"Stick to the plan!" Stark tried to tell him. "Stick to the plan!"

Yinsen picked up one of the dead men's automatic weapons and ran to confront the terrorists, firing as he went.

"Yinsen!" Stark yelled after him.

Stark looked at the computer screen and saw the progress bar was only 51% full.

"Is there any way anyway to make this go faster?" asked Trina.

"No, we just have to wait. I'm sure Yinsen will survive till I get there." Trina still found it odd how nice and reassuring Stark was to her.

"No, he won't," Trina said, sadly. "He'll be dying at the caves' entrance when you reach it."

"What kind of talk is that? You should have a little more resolution in Yinsen."

"I saw it, Mr. Stark. Sometimes I see things before they occur. You'll see, he'll be to the left of the entrance and bleeding from multiple wounds."

Stark hoped the poor girl was wrong, but he could see the horror and sadness in her eyes.

Suddenly the computer beeped; the upload was complete. Trina saw the face plate drop down into place and the eye openings lit up.

* * *

One of the men stepped into the room to find where Stark was hiding. Trina watched from the corner on the man's left as Stark, using the suit to enhance his strength, threw the man across the room. The other three men, who'd remained outside began to shoot into the room. The gunfire lasted about twenty seconds before the men stopped in the hope that they had managed to kill Stark.

They were quickly disappointed, as Stark came forward in full armor and easily took the men down.

With the entrance clear, Stark proceeded down the cavern toward the entrance, his armor protected him from any gunfire.

Trina followed behind, far back enough that she wouldn't get hit with any ricocheting bullets. She ignored the pain and panic coming off both Stark and the militants. She watched as one of the men ran at Stark while mindlessly and aimlessly shooting his gun. Stark easily knocked the man into the rock wall.

The terrorists were now terrified themselves and fled, knowing they were at a disadvantage. They soon hid behind steel doors, built to cut off the hall in emergencies. They left one of their own trapped on the wrong side.

Stark knocked out the straggler before breaking down the door. Trina saw from her vantage point as the men again fled in terror.

While trying to strike one of the men Stark got the left arm of his suit stuck in the rock wall. Trina wanted to go help, but, as if sensing Trina's intention, Stark yelled without turning his head, "Stay where you are and let me deal with this."

Trina swore if she does get out of this she would never again sit back and let someone else do the fighting.

She watched as a man got close enough to shoot Stark pointblank in the head, only for the bullet to bounce off and into the shooter's head.

Once Stark got his arm free he continued on until he got to the entrance and saw Yinsen on top of some sand bags to the left of the entrance. "Yinsen," he calls out to the wounded man.

"Watch out!" Yinsen warned, weakly, just as Raza fired a grenade launcher at Stark.

The grenade missed and Stark returned fire with an arm length missile that hits the explosives behind Raza. The resulting explosion caught the side of Raza's face, severely burning it and knocking Raza unconscious.

Stark, now joined by Trina, went over to Yinsen to check on him.

"Stop," Yinsen said softly.

"Come on," ordered Stark, while trying to sit Yinsen up. "We got to go. Move for me, come on. We got a plan. We're gonna stick to it."

"This was always the plan, Stark," Yinsen replied, while Trina looked at him sadly. She saw this in her mind, and yet it still hurt to see it in real life.

"Come on," Stark insisted, "you're going to see your family. Get up."

"My family is dead. I'm going to see them know, Stark. It's okay. I want this. I want this." Tears came to Trina's eyes when Yinsen revealed this piece of information.

"Thank you for saving me." Stark said, as he held back tears of his own.

"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." Yinsen then turned to Trina and saw her silently crying. "please wipe away those tears. You try to hide it, but I can still see hope in your eyes. Keep that hope strong, I'd hate to know that you let such a thing die." Yinsen took a painful breath and continued, "You remind me of my youngest daughter. She was a miracle, too." With that said, Yinsen closed his eyes and exhaled his last breath.

Trina said a silent prayer that Yinsen and his family would find peace in the next life.

Stark stood up and his face plate fell back into place. He cocked the weapons on his armor with renewed vigor and steps out of the cave. The rest of the militants, who were waiting outside, opened fire. It lasted for about sixty seconds, after which they stopped when they see the armor hadn't moved.

"My turn," said Stark, before using the high-powered flamethrowers built in to the arms of his armor, causing many of the enemy men to catch on fire. Stark then deliberately aimed the flamethrowers at the crates filled with explosives. He destroyed many of the weapons in their possession.

Trina watched as Stark continued to destroy the weapons outside of the cave, most of which were made by his company. Stark told her to wait until the timing was just right. The terrorists will be too focused on escaping the explosions to notice a young girl. At that point, but before the explosions got too powerful, Trina was supposed to make a run for Stark, at which point he would launch the rockets on his boots to, hopefully, get them both clear of the blast.

Men in the distance, high up on cliffs, aimed their rifles and other long distance projectile weapons at Stark in his armor. Even the men who were closer try, without success, to use their guns to take down the armored billionaire.

The bullet fire did cause Stark to fall to his knees, however, just as Trina got to Stark, and Stark used the flamethrowers to cause more explosives to go off. In the ongoing chaos and confusion Stark stood with Trina in his arms and launched the rockets in his boots to escape.

Trina felt their shaky rise off the ground when they were suddenly caught by the tail end of the explosion, which caused the two of them to break apart and fly off in slightly different directions.

Trina was heading full speed through the air when she suddenly felt a burning, skin-splitting pain in her back. Surprisingly, Trina's descent to the ground slowed with a pulling sensation to her back. She turned her head and saw white feathered wings had come out of her back. She landed gently in the sand and, just as unexpectedly as the wings appeared, they seemed to melt back into the skin of Trina's back. She reached back to see if she somehow imagined the whole thing and her hand came back with blood on it. He shoulders and spine were also tender.

Trina looked around and saw a heap of metal lying in the sand. Ignoring her pain, she ran over to see her intuition was correct and Stark was lying on his back in the sand. Trina saw that the armor had mostly fallen apart during Starks trip through the air. His helm was still on, however, and Trina quickly pulled it off and started lightly slapping his face in order to wake him up.

"Wake up, Stark," Trina demanded.

"You know you can call me Tony at this point, right," Stark mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"What," Trina asked, confusion clear on her face.

"After everything we've been through, kid, you've earned the use of my first name," Stark, no Tony, explained.

"Oh."

"Come on," Tony said while standing. "They may come looking for us."

Stark gave his over-shirt to Trina to cover her face and they began to put as much distance between them and the cave prison.

* * *

A few hours into the trek Tony and Trina spotted two military fighter jets and a helicopter fly overhead.

Stark immediately yelled out and waved his arm to get the pilot's attention. Trina remained passive, unsure whether or not these jets were friendly.

As, the planes landed Stark fell to his knees in relief. Out of the helicopter came five soldiers. The one in the middle seemed to know Tony, as he asked, "How was the 'fun-vee'?"

Stark laughed with relief and weariness.

"Next time, you ride with me okay?" said the military man, right before pulling Tony into a man-hug.

"Rhodey, I'd like you to meet Trina, she was kidnapped a few months before me. Trina this is James Rhodes, he's one of my closest friends."

Trina nodded her head slightly, still unsure of the situation.

Rhodes smiled, before kneeling down to Trina and saying, "It's okay, you don't have to be afraid. We're here to help."

Trina sensed nothing but honesty and sincerity from Rhodes, so she decided to trust him. Rhodes, seeing how weak and malnourished the girl was, lifted her up into his arms and carried her into the helicopter, as two other soldiers assisted Tony.

 **I'm so sorry for the long wait in updating. I had a few technical conundrums to sort out, namely the escape and the peak at Trina's wings. The escape was pretty strait forward in the film, Stark launches the rockets in the boots and the explosion propels him further way. This however was without an eleven-year-old girl as his passenger. I also wanted to include a glimpse of the wings that Trina will be testing out during this fic, while Tony tinkers with the mark II & III armor. I was afraid that if I wrote Tony seeing the wing then, keeping with his character, Tony might be too into studying Trina's wings to work on the armor. Then there wouldn't really be an Iron Man.**

 **Also, with all the excitement of the escape, Tony has moved Trina's prediction of Yinsen's death, and wear they'd find him, to the back of his mind. Many people would pass this off as merely analyzing the statistics and déjà vu.**

 **Thank you all for the favorites, follows, and reviews. Please review more I like hearing opinions. Flames, however, will be given to Surtur, ;-)**


	6. Chapter 6

The Orphan

An MCU Fanfiction

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that are copyrighted by Marvel/Disney. I do own Yekaterina (Trina) Savinkoff-Stark.

The helicopter carrying Rhodey, Tony Stark, and Trina had just landed at the army base in the Middle East. Rhodey stepped out first and tried to help Tony, who quickly refused, and both turned and helped Trina.

Trina was swiftly losing energy; the past twenty-four hours were catching up to her and despite having started eating again back in the caves, she had been fueled more by adrenalin than actual nourishment. It was such a trial to stand and walk the short distance from the helicopter site to the military building that after only four steps she nearly collapsed and the man Tony called Rhodey had to pick her up and carry her.

"Colonel Rhodes, I see you found Stark, but who's the kid?" asked another military personnel.

"This is Trina, she was another captive that was being held by the men who held me. There was a third man but he was killed during our escape." Stark was quick to respond, but his tone turned sad at the last sentence. "I'd like her to be checked out by a doctor before any debriefing is done."

At the word "doctor" Trina began to struggle in Rhodey's arms. "No doctor, please!" she cried. Trina had enough of doctors and their cold detached attitudes; the way they stared dispassionately as their patients/subjects cried out in pain and begged for mercy.

At her outburst, everyone turned and stared at Trina. Her fear was evident in her dilated pupils and wild flailing. She was obviously terrified of medical personnel.

"Can we get a pediatrician out here?" asked Colonel Rhodes. "It might be easier on the kid if we have a gentler form of medical care."

"I'll reimburse you once we get state side," added Tony.

The general took another look at the terrified kid and felt his chest constrict as if he were experiencing the girl's fear. Shaking his head the general turned to Stark and Colonel Rhodes and replies, "I know a decent pediatrician who can help, but she'll want to be well compensated for this impromptu trip."

"Not a problem," remarked Stark.

* * *

Dr. Aliza Swanson, a thirty-five-year-old pediatrician, stepped off the plane on to the military airfield. She wasn't sure why she was here, but her friend Matt Gabriel had called her a few days ago and asked her to come all the way out to the Middle East to check out a refuge child who had apparently been imprisoned and starved for months. He stated that the girl had a wealthy American benefactor who would see that everything would either be covered or she would at least be reimbursed for her expenses. She didn't need the incentive, she was making the list of necessary travel arrangements once the words child and starved were out.

Seeing her uncle, Aliza quickened her gait to meet him.

"Hi there, Uncle Matt," she greeted. Seeing other soldiers raising their eyebrows, Aliza quickly corrected herself. "Sorry. Good day, General."

General Gabriel just smirked at his niece. Aliza was his elder sister's only child and had a streak of compassion one hundred miles long. If any medical professional could get through to a scared little girl, it was Dr. Aliza Swanson.

"So, General, what can you tell me about my newest patient?"

"She was kidnapped twice, apparently," began General Gabriel. "First when she was two, and those people tortured her for years, before her new captures got ahold of her. They were hoping to get a ransom from the first group. At least, that's what Stark is saying."

"Wait, Stark, as in Tony Stark, the billionaire? You found him?"

"Colonel Rhodes found him a few hours before I called you. Stark was being held by the same group who was ransoming the kid. The minute Stark said he wanted her checked out she went ballistic."

"So obviously traumatized then."

"Stark was saying something about the girl saying she was experimented on by the original group. But I think that's just the trauma talking."

"Where is she?"

* * *

Trina sat in the corner of the examination room with her knees clutched to her chest, as she rocked back and forth. She had her eyes clenched shut and was tuning out the words of Stark and Colonel Rhodes. She should have just let herself die back in the caves. Better that then to be in the hands of any more "doctors."

She tried to block out the images of her past, but couldn't. The scenes behind her eyes just kept playing, over and over. The cold lab table, the sharp needles, and the painful feel of the being hit with the electric stick and the lightning machine. She could still feel the pain, hear the cold clipped voices of the doctors and their men. Trina didn't want to be in that situation ever again.

She had just opened her eyes and gathered the last bit of her adrenalin-fueled energy to run as fast and far as she could, when the door opened and a kind looking women stepped in.

Dr. Swanson took one look at the under-fed little girl and felt sympathy well up in her chest. She made note of how under-fed the girl was. The little thing only wore a thread-bare, gray pair of pants and a matching shirt. The shirt appeared to be torn in the back. ' _How can anyone do this to a child?!_ ' was the first thought that came to Eliza's mind.

The young girl stood up on shaky legs and immediately tried to run for the door, sadly Col. Rhodes managed to grab her before she even made it five feet from the wall.

"It's okay, miss," Rhodey tried desperately to calm Trina down, "this lady just wants to make sure you're okay."

Dr. Swanson saw how panicked the girl became when she, herself, walked in the room. This reaction told Aliza that the girl may have indeed been experimented on. Why else would a child have such a strong reaction against a doctor.

Rather than attempt to examine the child in this anxious state, Aliza instead walked over to speak with the infamous Tony Stark.

"Mr. Stark, my name is Dr. Aliza Swanson and I've been asked to examine the child."

"Trina," said Stark.

"Excuse me?"

"Her real name is foreign and I can't pronounce it right," Stark stated, "so I gave her the nickname, 'Trina,' and she seems okay with that."

"Alright, well I won't examine Trina until she's willing, but I would like to speak with her. I want to hear her story in her own words. You're welcome to stay; I'm sure that would make Trina more comfortable and willing to open up about what happened."

"What are your credentials if I may ask?" Tony wanted to make sure this wasn't some quack trying to make a name for herself.

Instead of being offended Aliza was glad this Tony Stark was looking out for Trina, instead of just pushing the poor girl way once they were both safe. "I have a master's degree in biology and chemistry from NYU and I went to Johns Hopkins medical school, I also did my residency there, as well. I've been a practicing physician for almost ten years."

Stark nodded, semi-impressed, and turned to look at Trina. She was still being held by Rhodey, and at this point, was hyperventilating.

"Mr. Stark," Dr. Swanson spoke to draw Stark's attention back to her. "I need you to talk to Trina and explain all this to her. Tell her I won't even take her temperature without her verbal consent." With that said Dr. Swanson took a seat in a chair that was placed next to the closed door.

Aliza's instincts told her that there was something different with this child and things would go a lot smoother if she had the child's full cooperation.

Tony sighed before he walked over to Trina, who had gotten away from Rhodey and pushed herself, full body, against the wall. Tony lowered himself down enough to be eye to eye with the trembling girl.

"Trina," Tony said, as gently as possible. This was a totally new experience for him. He'd never felt responsible for anyone, especially not a child. "Look at me."

Tony waited until Trina's eyes met his before he continued. "I've spoken to Dr. Swanson," he pointed at the doctor across the room, "and she says she won't examine you until you say it's okay. She like you to tell her about yourself. She did say I could stay with you while you talked with her. Is that okay?"

Trina looked at Tony with wide eyes, full of fear and uncertainty. "You'll stay with me?" Trina verified.

"If that's what you want, then I'll stay," Tony confirmed.

Trina nodded and stood up on wobbly legs and walked over to the medical bed with Tony holding her hand.

Dr. Swanson had been covertly watching and listening to the exchange and took Trina's arrival at the medical cot as a sign for her to get up and move the chair to the bed. She wanted to be close and felt that the little girl would be more comfortable if the doctor wasn't looming over her.

With Trina sitting on the foot of the cot and the doctor sitting in a chair four feet in front of her, Tony grabbed another chair and sat on the left side of the cot. He was close enough for him and Trina to continue holding hands comfortably. Rhodey had quietly left the room.

"Trina," began Dr. Swanson. "Is it okay if I call you that? I don't know your full name."

"Yekaterina Savinkoff," stated Trina, trying to talk with a false sense of bravado.

"Alright, Yekaterina, my name is Dr. Aliza Swanson and I'm here to make sure your healthy and unharmed. But first, how about you tell me a bit about yourself. Do you know when you were born?"

"The thirtieth of April 1995."

"Okay, now Mr. Stark says your parents are dead. Do you know how long they've been dead?"

"They died the night I was acquired by the men in lab coats. On the seventh of July 1997."

"Acquired?"

"That's what men in lab coats say, 'Subject acquired on seventh of July 1997. Parents removed from equation by the asset.'"

"Asset?"

He was man with a black mask covering his nose and mouth. He had a red star on his arm." Trina pointed to her left arm as she had done with Yinsen. "This man says it was a single clean shot."

Dr. Swanson didn't ask her to verify, but she was amazed that a nine-year-old girl could remember all this. She made note of the child's impressive memory on the bad she was using.

"Do you have any other family?" asked Dr. Swanson.

"I had a twin sister," admitted Trina. "She was terminated as a subject."

"Terminated?" asked the doctor and Stark at the same time.

"She would not cooperate and made an escape attempt, so she was terminated."

"How?" asked Tony, before Dr. Swanson could.

"They cut her throat," said Trina. She sounded like she was holding back tears.

"Did you see them do this?" asked Dr. Swanson, noticing, from the corner of her eyes, the look of shock on Tony Stark's face. He was most likely thinking the same thing she was, ' _What kind of people could do that to a child._ '

"Yes," Trina said with tears streaming down her face. "They wanted me to be more compliant. So, they made me watch her die."

"When did this happen?" asked Dr. Swanson, after taking a few moments to compose herself.

"Subject two was terminated on the third of May 2002," Trina said this statement like it a computer.

"Can you describe what happened to you specifically at this… um… lab?"

Trina told her about the cold hard table she was often strapped to, the injection of strange liquids, and the machine that put lightning in her head. She described the painful, burning sensation of the liquid as it flowed into her veins and the pain in her head, hands and back. Also, being hit with the electric stick when she didn't do what the lab coats wanted fast enough.

"Trina," Dr. Swanson said gently, "I would like to check you over. There will be no needles right now, but I need to see if you injured, okay?"

"Can Tony stay?"

"Yes, but there may be times when he needs to turn away, like when you change into this gown." Dr. Swanson held up a medical gown in front of her. "This will make it easier for me to check your skin for any cuts or bruises."

Trina looked over at Tony, who gave an encouraging nod.

"Okay."

Trina changed in to the gown as soon as Tony turned his back, and Dr. Swanson went behind her to tie the gown.

"Did the lab men give you these tattoos?" Dr. Swanson asked.

"What," asked Trina and Tony simultaneously.

"There's a set of feathered-wings tattooed on the whole of your back." Dr. Swanson gingerly touched one causing Trina to hiss and recoil away from the doctor. Aliza swore the wings moved and flexed.

"They never touched my back with anything other than the electric sticks."

"Okay," said Dr. Swanson as she moved away and made some more notes on her pad. "First I'm going to take you temperature. We can do that by poking your ear with this." The doctor should her the ear thermometer. "This will only take a few seconds"

Trina nodded and gave her verbal her consent, so Dr. Swanson gently put the thermometer in the child's ear.

A few seconds later the instrument beeped, and Dr. Swanson looked at the reading and was shocked at what she saw. The child's temperature was 118.6F, that was twenty degrees higher than the standard body temperature.

' _How is this child alive?_ ' Eliza wondered.

"Trina," Dr. Swanson waited till the girl's eyes met her own. Not wanting to scare the child, but needing to know if the she was sick and possibly contagious, Eliza gently asked, "Do have a headache, a cough, a sore throat, or any muscle pain?"

Trina tilted her head in thought, "My back feels like someone took a knife to my shoulders, and the muscle there feel like something was pulling on them. Besides that, I'm sure the other pain has to do with the escape from the caves and the following trek through the desert."

Trina decided not to tell the doctor or Tony about the wing emerging from her back while she had been sailing through the air after the escape. She knew that information wouldn't be received well, just yet.

Eliza wasn't certain that was all true, but regardless she continued examining the child giving her a full head to toe physical. Everything came out normal, strangely normal. The amount of time the girl spent starving herself should have caused major muscle atrophy, but that wasn't the case. Once include the time in the desert and the lack of water should have caused major weakness and dehydration, such a thing had occurred with Tony Stark but not with this little girl. It was peculiar.

"Now Trina, I do need some blood samples." Seeing the girl's eyes widen in terror, Eliza quickly came up with a way of keeping the girl calm. She motioned to Mr. Stark to come over to the girl's right side. "Look, I'm going to take blood from your left arm. Meanwhile, Tony is going to hold your right hand. You keep your eyes on Tony and don't look at the needle. That way the needle won't hurt as much. Mr. Stark, if you could keep talking to her, then we can have this done in five minutes or less."

Tony held Trina's hand and began telling her about hid house in Malibu, and his computer system JARVIS. Trina seemed fascinated by what was being said, so Dr. Swanson moved to her left and began to gently take blood samples. She let Tony keep the child distracted, except when she needed Trina to make a fist, so the doctor could find her vein.

Eliza intended to test for disease as well as genetic markers. Once she had enough vials she pulled out the needle and wrapped the injection site and told Trina she could look.

Trina was shocked how little pain she felt. The lab coats never seemed to care if they caused her pain they just wanted speedy results.

"You guys will have to stay at the base for a day or two while I make sure these samples are healthy, after that you'll be on your way to the U.S." Eliza smiled at Tony and Trina before leaving to run her tests.

"Well, Trina, I've got a question to ask you," Tony began. "While the doctor was checking you over, the military got a hold of the officials in Sokovia and confirmed that your parents are deceased. They also found out you don't have any relatives."

Trina looked down as tears gathered in her eyes.

Tony started to panic as he saw the tears trail down Trina's cheeks.

"Whoa, whoa! Don't cry, please. Look, you got nobody back in your own country, so I was wondering if want to come live with me?"

Trina looked up at Tony Stark, afraid to hope. "You want me to stay with you?" she asked, scared that she had misheard the billionaire.

"Yeah," said Tony with a smile. "I figured you can't be on your own, plus you managed to put up with me and my ego for months and that's more than can be said for most people." Tony gave her a charming smile that Trina hesitantly returned.

"Okay, Tony, I'll live with you."

* * *

In a dark warehouse, two men conversed. One dressed like a politician with graying, light brown hair and an all-American accent. The other wore a crisp uniform and a monocle, he spoke with a heavy German accent.

"Are you sure the child recovered from the Middle East is our project" asked All-American.

"I'm sure of it Mr. Pierce, and from what satellite images caught during the escape of her and Tony Stark from the terrorists' caves, the experiment was a success in ways we couldn't have imagined. Should we reacquire it."

"No, she was obviously too stubborn to grow while knowingly under our eyes. After Stark escaped those caves with the use of that suit, he gained the notice of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. They will be monitoring him and the experiment we'll keep an eye on it through them. Let's see how it develops while it thinks it's safe."

"As you wish, sir."

 **I'm so sorry that this update has taken so long. I've been going through bad situation after bad situation. First my computer gets hacked, then months later my neighbor accidently set her apartment on fire when she fell asleep in bed, with a cigarette in her mouth and her oxygen machine running. Trying to get back on track after that was a nightmare. For those of you waiting for chapter six of Irish Hemlock, I'm working on that next and will hopefully have it up soon.**

 **Also, I'm editing the dates mentioned earlier in the story. I will also be spacing the film events further apart in order to add Trina's personal events and experiences in between the movies. I need Trina to be eighteen by the time Thor: The Dark World occurs. Between that movie and Captain America: The Winter Soldier Trina will visit Sokovia looking for answers to why she was captured and will meet Pietro and Wanda before they volunteer for HYDRA's experiments.**

 **Dr. Eliza Swanson will be getting a side-story of her own, one I'm done with this story.**


End file.
